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Due to the successful turnout for last month's Grab Bag Book Giveaway, I've decided to have another. This time, the lucky reader will take get the following four titles:

Be Still My Vampire Heart by Kerrelyn Sparks

Night's Touch by Amanda Ashley

Wicked Fantasy by Nina Bangs

Night Life by Elizabeth Guest

To enter, simply leave a comment to this post telling us WHY you like vampire romance books!

We'll be taking entries through September 28, with a lucky reader's name to be drawn from the hat on September 29 and announced here. We will inform said lucky reader by e-mail as well. Be sure and read our official contest rules, too, for information on eligibility and such.

Congratulations to Ms. Lawson and thank you all so much for participating at VRB.com. We'll be having another contest soon!

P.S. VampireRomanceBooks.com will be marking its first anniversary in October and we're planning a big celebration, with special features and giveaways. More details will be announced in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to VRB.com!

I’ll say one thing for Keri Arthur, she knows how to build and sustain suspense. I just finished reading her latest Riley Jenson title, Embraced by Darkness, and believe it’s the best book in the series — which is rapidly becoming one of my favorites — to date.

At the end of the previous entry, Dangerous Games, Riley was left with a lot of unknowns about her life, professionally and personally, even physiologically. She faces those unknowns head on in Embraced by Darkness and the results aren’t exactly what she, or the even the reader, expects.

Riley, our strong and sassy half-were half-vampire heroine, finds herself embroiled in a pair of mysteries from the outset, one with a connection to her past and another with paranormal origins. She is drawn deeper into the Guardian ranks as she investigates both, seeking to find a member of the pack that banished her and to stop an evil soul committing gruesome acts of homicide. And, to top it all off, she is faced with a choice in her deepening relationship with the sexy Kellen — go solo with him or lose him altogether.

Embraced by Darkness continues the trend of the series with a whiz-bang of a story that makes the reader feel something really is at stake, while Ms. Arthur continues to impress in how she continues to grow Riley as a character. With each page, Riley seems to grow personally in some way, maturing, adapting and evolving — sometimes easily, sometimes painfully — making these books a rather special treat in a genre that sometimes comes up short on that account.

Have you read Embraced by Darkness? If so, feel free to post a comment and let us know what you think.

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Night’s Touch is the second book I’ve read by Amanda Ashley and I enjoyed it as much as the first, Dead Sexy.

In Night’s Touch, she tells the story of Cara, a librarian in her early twenties who has lived a very sheltered life. The product of an unwanted teen pregnancy, Cara was taken in and raised by the couple who helped deliver her in a back alley. The couple, however, is not an ordinary man and woman. They’re vampires and they keep Cara in the dark about their nature and protect her intensely.

Despite such a sheltered upbringing, though, Cara is largely a strong and sensible heroine. She is warm and caring, smart and educated, if not necessarily socially experienced, and she has the usual hopes of dreams young women entertain. Some readers may find it hard to believe that a female in this day and age could reach such an age untouched in so many ways, including sexually, but I know for a fact that it is possible, if not prevalent in today’s world. Personally, I think Cara is the better it, and it lends the story a different, almost wholesome tone, which is different than the usual romance fare. Her innocence is compelling and it lends a sweetness to the love story that unfolds.

Her love interest is none other than a vampire himself, Vince Cordova. He quickly picks up on the fact her parents are vampires but keeps their secret and his own about what he is. Their courtship is tender and Vince is not without misgivings when it comes to her inexperience. He is an honorable sort, born and raised in the South, and lets fly with “darlin'” quite often when talking to Cara. She falls head over heels in love with him, her first love, and is wonderfully bold in what she wants with this man who lights her fire and sparks her mind.

Of course, it wouldn’t be much of vampire romance book without an element of danger … and competition, and Night’s Touch has both, though the latter is more serious than the first.

Overall, I found Night’s Touch an enjoyable read and a lovely way to pass a TV- and Internet-less evening before my move to a new home and state.

Have you read Night’s Touch? If so, feel free to post a comment and let us know what you thought of it.

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Ladies (and any lurking gents), our featured author for the month of August is T.J. Michaels, author of the Vampire Council of Ethics series, which began in e-book format and has been picked up by Samhain publishing. Carinian's Seeker kicked off the series and the second volume, Serati's Flame, is due out in both paperback and e-book formats at the end of this month.

Ms. Michaels was kind enough to answer a series of questions for us about her writing and life and we'd like to share them with you. So, without further ado, an interview with T.J. Michaels.

To enter, simply leave a comment to this post naming your FAVORITE vampire romance author and WHY you like them!

We'll be taking entries through August 25, with a lucky reader's name to be drawn from the hat on August 26 and announced here. We will inform said lucky reader by e-mail as well. Be sure and read our official contest rules, too, for information on eligibility and such.